Tuition could rise for some community college students

The state Board for Community and Technical Colleges will meet Friday to formally freeze tuition rates for most students next year.

State lawmakers directed the state board to not increase tuition for students who are residents of Washington. It will be the first time since 1989 that tuition did not go up for resident students in the two-year college system.

But lawmakers did leave the door open for hiking the price for out-of-state students.

Locally, Edmonds Community College enrolled 2,088 nonresident students this past academic year while Everett Community College reported 1,108 out-of-staters.

If approved, this would boost the annual cost for a full-time student – one who is taking 15 credit hours a quarter – from $9,235 to $9,500, according to materials prepared for the board meeting.

For students enrolled in upper division programs – which are applied baccalaureate courses similar to what a junior or senior takes at a university – the annual cost for non-resident would go from $18,111 to $18,642.